Hero
by dragonslayer627
Summary: A "Tomb Raider: A Survivor is Born" story where Alex Weiss lives.
1. Chapter 1

Facing imminent death really makes you realize how stupid a person can make you feel… I mean, sure, there's a time when someone steals your clothes when you're in the shower (typical prank to pull on the nerds. I really appreciated that, guys.), and there's the time when you lose your glasses due to barfing up the entire contents of your stomach over the side of the ship's rail. What I really feel dimwitted about, though, is that I never had the gall to tell Lara that I was irrevocably in love with her.

Now look where I am. I'm under a pipe that is crushing my leg, the enemies closing in. All I wanted to do was to show the team that I'm not some useless nerd. I was hoping that maybe I could impress Lara as well… Is that so much to ask?

* * *

CRASH!

"Alex?!"

_No, it couldn't be…. _

"Alex, are you in here?!"

_It has to be. It's her voice._

"Lara! I'm down here!" I yelled as loud as I could. As her footsteps drew closer, I let out a few curses.

"Alex?!"

_God, what is she doing here?!_

"Lara!"

_She shouldn't be here. She definitely should not be here…._

"What's going on? Are you alright?"

_She doesn't know? The solarii have taken over the whole ship! They'll be here at any minute…._

"I'm pinned down in here. It doesn't look good." My voice sounded weak, though I tried not to show it.

I heard her splash around, her footsteps getting closer and closer…

"No! The door's blocked… Just hold on! I'm going to get you out of there." Lara's voice was determined, which relaxed me the slightest bit.

"Okay… Just hurry!" I pleaded.

_No need to stay here any longer than needed._

As the minutes passed, I heard various clangs and shuffling. The silence between Lara and I was beginning to be uncomfortable.

"Lara, I'm sorry for dragging you into this mess. I don't know what I was thinking, coming out here… I thought I could be the star in my own action movie." I chuckled. "I guess it doesn't always work out like that…" My voice faltered as the awareness of my surroundings became less and less vivid. My chances of survival were getting low now, I knew that much. "Oh god… Lara, I'm in bad shape. "

Lara ignored my statement and continued on with whatever she was doing. At last, after what seemed like forever, the doorway was cleared.

"Great! Got it." Lara exclaimed.

"Great… Good… Job… So sleepy…" I managed to get out before nearly falling unconscious.

_Keep it together, Alex…_

"Alex? Alex! Oh god…. I've got to get in there. Alex, I'll have you out of there soon!"

I could barely make out her words… dots were dancing across my vision. My mind was fuzzy. And pain. So much pain… _Is this what dying feels like?_

Lara ran to my side. "Oh, Alex… you got the tools!"

"Finally I impress you!" I teased.

"Let's get you out of here."

Sharp pains suddenly appeared in my leg, and my mouth involuntarily let out a scream.

"Sorry, sorry…"

Despite my discomfort, I tried to lighten the situation up a bit. "Well. Looks like my dance career is over."

CLANG! A bullet whizzed past my head and into a box just inches from my head. Lara instinctively ducked down at the sound of it. The second floor of the room revealed a horde of solarii, all armed and ready. I retrieved my handgun from the floor beside me, and shot in the direction of the group. It hit a fuel barrel, which caused the area and everyone in it to be set aflame.

"What are you doing?! You'll kill us!" Lara cried out.

The truth started to sink in. "I'm not gonna make it out of here, Lara. Take the tools." I tried to sound as confident as I possibly could.

"Not without you."

Lara's assertion surprised me. I glanced up into her eyes, realizing it was probably the last time I would ever see them. They bore the look of unbelievable determinism. As if the pipe had fallen on my heart instead of my leg, I felt pain that I had never felt before. _My heart is breaking._

"How often does a guy like me get to be a hero?" The statement hit Lara like a ton of bricks. _When does the nerd ever get to be the hero?_

The previous group's backup had arrived, and were firing in our direction.

"The others are counting on us." I explained.

_On you…._

"Go!"

Still, Lara refused.

"Now!" I demanded, silently begging her to save herself.

Lara grabbed the tools from my hand and set them down.

"What are you doing? Get out of here!" my imploration had no effect.

"No." she whispered, then leaned in. Unexpectedly, she gently kissed my cheek, which left me in a further daze.

Before I had even realized it, she had pushed the pipe off my leg and was dragging me out the door, dodging bullets the whole time. Lara propped me up against the hall, swiftly threw a torch in the direction of the fuel barrels, and slammed the door shut. The sound of the explosion was extraordinary, and deafening. Even though we were behind a six inch door, the heat was still blistering.

"Come on!" Lara ordered.

I stood up with her help and limped as fast as I could down the hall, which was now collapsing. We reached the edge of the boat. _What now?_ As if Lara was answering my mental question, she grabbed a hold of me and jumped onto the rope, then used a device to quickly send us to the other half of the Endurance.

I dropped to the floor, breathing heavy.

"Are you okay?" Lara asked, genuinely concerned.

"As long as a giant squid doesn't suddenly appear out of nowhere, I think I'll be fine." My joke awarded me with her smile.

"Come on, let's go get you patched up." Lara helped me back to the camp, where the group was eagerly awaiting.


	2. Chapter 2

After an hour of riding various ropes and crossing inhospitable terrain, Lara and I hobbled into camp, our presence alerting the group. They saw us and immediately started running towards us.

"What happened?" Reyes asked, rather indignantly.

"Well. We sort of ran into some trouble." I said, flashing a grin.

"Yes, I can see that." Reyes snapped back. "Did you get the tools?"

Lara handed her the tools, and then set me down at the fire. I noticed that Dr. Whitman was back, sitting there, reading his journal. Jonah and Sam walked over with some scavenged medical supplies and got to work on my leg, the clinks and clanks of Reyes repairing a boat in the background.

* * *

When night fell upon the beach, everyone was asleep. Well, almost everyone. Lara and I still sat around the fire. She stared into it as if it were consuming her thoughts.

"Lara?"

"Yes?" her gaze didn't leave the flames.

"Thank you… for back on the Endurance."

Her eyes met mine, and for the first time, I didn't see any sign of life in them. They were like an ocean, vast and dismal.

"You saved me. Even when I told you to go, you stayed… You amaze me, Lara. You're brave, and compassionate, and even in the darkest of times, you find a will to go on. A survivor. Something I can only dream of being. You truly are a hero." _My hero…._

"A hero would've been able to save Roth and Grim." Lara's eyes were glassy, and immediately I regretted bringing up the subject.

"Lara, you can't blame yourself."

She jumped up, now angry. "Of course I can blame myself! It was my fault they died! They died to save me… You wouldn't understand."

"Lara, I-"

"Everyone that I've ever cared about has died! Died for me! You don't know what that's like… the guilt, the pain…" Tears started streaming down her face. "Back on the ship, when you wanted me to leave you, I couldn't. I didn't want you to die, too!" she paused. "I can't let anyone else die…" Lara ran off, away from camp. Due to my leg, I was unable to go after her.

"Crap…" I muttered to myself.

_Note to Self: Do not call Lara a hero._

By now, the commotion had awoken the other crew members, and they were already up and prepared for an attack.

"Whassgoinon…?" Jonah mumbled sleepily.

"Lara?" Sam asked, and I nodded. "I'll go talk to her."

"No!" Dr. Whitman blurted out, and all eyes turned to him. "I mean…. Maybe she just needs a little time to cool off?" he let out a nervous chuckle. _That guy is starting to get really weird…_

"You're right about that. No need to upset her even more." Reyes uttered.

"God, I'm such an idiot…" I hadn't even realized that the sentence had come out until Reyes was glaring at me.

"What did you do?" she asked, angrily.

I recalled the last few moments. "I thanked her for saving my butt back on the ship. And I, well, I called her a hero. Because of everything she's done. And she just freaked out!" I glanced off in the direction that Lara ran off in.

Minutes later (after Reyes had stopped yelling at me), Reyes, Jonah, and Dr. Whitman had already lay back down on their mat. Sam came over to me. "You need to go talk to her."

I looked at Sam. "Sure, I'll just go crawl down to the shore." She didn't look amused. "Fine, I'll be back." I said, serious this time.

Carefully, I stood up, retrieving a nearby stick to support myself on as I limped down to the shore. The tide was progressively getting higher, and small crabs scampered across the coarse sand. I caught a trail of footprints, assumed they were Lara's, and followed them. There was a figure perched on a rock.

"Lara?" The figure's head shot in my direction

"Alex, is that you?" Lara's voice said. _Thank god it was Lara, and not some psychopath that wants to kill us…_

"No, it's the Easter bunny." I sat down on the rocks beside her, sighing. I waited a moment before saying, "I came to tell you that I'm really sorry. I'm such an idiot. No, I'm not even worthy enough to be called that… I'm a downright moron."

"No, I just… overreacted. It's just been really stressful lately." She put her head in her hands.

I rubbed her back awkwardly, not knowing what else to do. "Yeah, life is tough. Especially when you're stranded on an island with psycho's constantly trying to kill you, and no way off the place. But hey, look on the bright side! We're having a wonderful time relaxing on the beach." I lay down on the rock, mimicking a person lying on the beach. "If only I had a piña colada…"

"You don't know how good a drink sounds right now." Lara said, practically drooling.

"Tell you what, as soon as we get off this god forsaken place and back to civilization, where people are mentally stable, I'll take you out to get a drink."

Lara gasped dramatically. "My dear good sir, are you asking me out on a date?"

"If I was, would you say yes?" I asked, hopeful. _Please say yes, please say yes. PLEASE say yes…_

She thought about it for a moment, and nodded. "Why not?" Lara smiled. _YES!_

"Well then, we should be getting back. The sooner we figure out what to do, the sooner I can take you on that date." Grinning in triumph, I somehow got myself and Lara off the rock, and we made our way back to camp.


	3. Chapter 3

Lara had been gone all day, and I was worried. It was getting close to sunset. All she told me was that she needed to go to the research lab nearby. _No doubt filled with solarii, traps, rats…_ I shuddered as I thought about the rats. I had never liked the filthy things.

Everything else was normal, though. Reyes was fixing the boat, Jonah was fishing, Sam was telling me yet another Yamatai story (not that I was listening), and Dr. Whitman was still reading his journals. _When does he ever NOT read them? _Although, occasionally he would glance up nervously in the direction of the gondola.

I missed my laptop. I mean REALLY missed my laptop. Most people have alcohol or some other kind of drug withdrawals, but I have laptop withdrawals. I needed some Skyrim, and I needed it now.

"Alex, are you listening to me?" Sam stopped my train of thought. I nodded, not having a clue what she had been saying for the last five minutes. _Does she ever stop talking?_

"Then, Himiko-" BAM! An eardrum bursting sound echoed in the air, interrupting Sam (which I would have been thankful for, if only the noise wouldn't have been a gunshot).

"Solarii!" Reyes shouted.

In a flash, Dr. Whitman grabbed Sam and took off in the direction of the enemy. "What the heck are you doing?!" I yelled to him, but got no response. It was odd, because the solarii weren't firing at Sam or Dr. Whitman. _Wait a second… Didn't Jonah tell me that Lara and Dr. Whitman had a disagreement? She said he couldn't be trusted?_

I was sent back to reality as a bullet appeared in a wooden plank, inches from my face. "Crap!" I exclaimed as I ducked down instinctively. Reaching for my gun, I heard Reyes on the radio, calling for Lara's aid.

Minutes into the fight, over half the solarii were dead, but now they were advancing closer to our location. I couldn't help but feel like I was in one of my zombie apocalypse games, my team taking out the zombies as they got closer. Only difference is, these have guns…

One got a lucky shot at Reyes before she blew his brains out.

"Reyes!" I shouted, but another voice shouted it at the same time. Lara burst into the scene, and ran to Reyes' aid.

As Reyes explained what happened, Jonah doctored up her arm. I wasn't going to be much use in that situation, so I started to look for Sam and Dr. Whitman. _What was he doing?_

"Alex. Are you okay?" Lara appeared by my side, bow in hand, just in case there were any solarii we missed.

"Just fine." I said, still looking for Sam. "I imagine Reyes has already told you what happened with Sam and Dr. Whitman."

"Yes. As soon as she gets the boat fixed, we're going to rescue her." She walked away, muttering something about Whitman.

* * *

"Yay. Back on a boat…" I whispered, already feeling queasy.

"I have some ginger, if you want it." Jonah started digging through his pack.

"What is ginger supposed to do?"

He pulled out a large root. "It helps with seasickness."

"In that case, don't mind if I do." I took the root. "What am I supposed to do, eat it?"

Jonah shook his head. "It works best if you make it into tea."

"Well gee, that helps, seeing how that's impossible at the moment."

He said nothing, only reaching to reclaim his useless ginger. A wave of nausea hit me, and I groaned in response. Lara shoved my head in between my knees, and rubbed my back. _Why did we have to take a boat?_ The boat stumbled across some rapids, and it started shaking roughly. _Lovely._

"Whatever happened to row, row, rowing your boat gently down the stream? This certainly isn't merry." I whined.

"Hey, look! A river bank! Why don't we go drop Alex off there, and leave? That would make me merry." Reyes said, overenthusiastically.

"Haha, very funny." I had no other comeback, mainly due to the fact that I was about to puke.

No one spoke a word after that. The only audible sound was the boat going down the river, as well as me hurling over the side of it. At one point, I startled the group as I cried out. My glasses had fallen off, and this time, I wasn't quick enough to catch them. Jonah was laughing at me so I started to glare at him, except I couldn't tell which figure was him, which made everyone start laughing. _Why did I have to be legally blind…?_

"We're here." Lara broke off the laughter.

Reyes pulled the boat over to the side of the river.

Jonah picked up his gun. "Alright. Let's go."

"No. I need you and Reyes to guard the main entrance while Alex and I go after Sam." Lara replied.

_Wait. Me?_

"Alex? He's blind and can hardly walk. Won't he just be another burden?" Reyes blurted out.

I shifted. "She's got a point." I mumbled, my eyes trying to see what was going on.

Lara paused for a moment. "I need him to come with me."

_Why…?_

Reyes acted confused for a moment, then sighed, as if she understood. "Just don't get him killed. Or Sam."

They exchanged their goodbyes, Lara told them what to do, and with that, we started our ascension up the side of the cliff.

"This oughta be fun."

* * *

AN: i know this chapter wasn't my best... but i had very little inspiration for it. I can't tell you how much your reviews mean to me! they just brighten my day so much! :)

random event of the day: I got some chineese food, and i was so excited to eat it! there was some juice from the sauce on the box, so i figured i'd wipe it off with a paper towel. i just so happened to be doing this over my sink. just my luck, i dropped it. in the sink. o.O


	4. Chapter 4

I was still oblivious as to why Lara wanted me to tag along with her. As we crawled through the cave, she showed no sign of why she wanted me there.

Suddenly, she held her arm out to stop me. "Shhhh…" It took me a second to realize why she was shushing me. Then, I heard it. Voices. But not just any voices. One of them belonged to Dr. Whitman.

We slowly crawled to the edge of the ledge, and peered over. Sam, Dr. Whitman, and some other strange man were walking through the opening below us.

"Sam! She's still alive. And the doctor… What the heck are you doing here, Whitman?" Lara whispered.

"Who are these…people?" Whitman's voice was barely audible, but I still managed to make out his words.

"The stormguard." Lara stated.

Confused, I asked, "The what?"

The unfamiliar man finally spoke. "They guard the monastery. They wait only to be introduced to their new queen by the one who brought her back to us." It was an obvious lie, but Whitman was too giddy to catch it.

"Ah, of course, of course." He took a nervous breath. "I have encountered these archaic tribes before. Let's get some awards, James." _As if…_

"What is he doing?" Lara hissed beside me.

"Being an idiot." I replied.

Dr. Whitman walked out into the opening, and approached the Stormguard. "My name is Doctor James Whitman. I come to you in peace. I bring you your new queen!" He held his arms out, as if presenting something that was meant to appear on a stage. It never came. Lara whispered an 'oh no' beside me. "Your queen!" He looked around nervously, waiting for Sam to come out. "What is it in Japanese…? Your… joou."

The stormguard angrily approached him and impaled him with a sword, causing him to fall off the bridge. Lara buried her face in my chest, not watching the horrific scene.

The man grabbed Sam's arm and dragged her across the bridge before the stormguard could notice. But apparently, Sam saw Lara and I crouched up here. "Lara!"

Lara hopped off the ledge, leaving me up here, and ran after Sam. She tried to run across the bridge, Sam screaming her name. The man only told Sam to come on and kept dragging her. Lara tried to follow, but the bridge was blown away by a mysterious wind, taking the stormguard with it.

As Lara paced, trying to figure out what to do, I slowly dropped off the ledge, focusing on landing on my uninjured leg. I rushed over to her.

"What are we going to do?" She was starting to panic.

I put my hands on her shoulders. "Lara, calm down. It's okay. We'll find another way across."

She nodded and looked around for a path. Lara pointed to a nearby pole, and walked over to it, me following close behind. She shot a rope arrow into a cliff across the chasm. _Great. Climbing again._ We managed to get up the cliff, and climbed through a window that led inside the monastery.

As soon as we got in, there was a loud battle cry. "The stormguard…still protecting their queen after all these years?" Lara muttered under her breath.

"Maybe they're just zombies, and they don't have a brain?"

She chuckled.

As we advanced through the halls, she stopped me again, and crouched behind a barrel. I did the same. A group of stormguard walked past, and disappeared out of my line of sight. After a few minutes, they didn't come back. "I think it's safe now."

We continued on and came into a room with a dead end. There was a door to the left, which I figured the stormguard went through, so I automatically marked that off of the list of ways out. "What now?" I asked Lara.

Lara took out an arrow and a lighter, set the tip of the arrow on fire, and shot it into a white cloth. After the cloth and a few barrels burned down, it revealed a passage. We had to crouch to get in it. I heard a crunching beneath my feet, and looked down. It took me a minute to realize what was causing it, due to my lack of eyesight, but eventually I realized that it was human skeletons. They were EVERYWHERE. _That's… lovely…?_

The air smelled… strange. Old. There was no other way to describe it. As the ceiling got higher, I started to hear footsteps, and I let out a curse. "Don't make a sound, Lara."

Pillars were collapsed, providing cover for us to sneak along the path. Even though there were over a hundred stormguard, they didn't seem to notice us. _Heck, maybe they are zombies…_

Up the stairs we went. It was another dead end, except for a single beam leading to the other side of the room. _There's no way I can do that… _"Lara…" She saw my expression, and hers changed. What it changed to, I couldn't tell you.

"Umm… okay." She took a deep breath. "There's no other way across. Alex, you're going to half to cross it. But don't worry. I'll help you. Just Trust me. Okay?" I could sense the worry in her voice, but I ignored it. I nodded, gulping.

I put my foot on the beam, looked behind me for reassurance. Lara nodded. I put my next foot out. _Oh god, if I fall, they'll kill us both. I can't let that happen..._ Step by step, I crossed the beam. I almost lost my footing once, but Lara grabbed my arm and steadied me. We finally got to the other side, and the stormguard didn't seem to notice our presence yet. _So far, so good._

"Okay, now that ledge." Lara whispered.

It took me a moment to realize that she was referring to a ledge that hovered over the stormguard, not to mention that there was nowhere to put your feet, just a place to dangle from. She started shimmying across it, me just standing there in awe.

_Out of the frying pan and into the fire, I guess._

As I tried to lift myself onto the ledge, I immediately regretted skipping gym class over the years in school. I had no upper arm strength. Whatsoever. I still managed to cross SOMEHOW (thank god), unnoticed, without falling. That is, until I came across a gap in the ledge.

An inhuman roar sounded beneath my feet, and arrows appeared inches from me. _Crap. They saw me. _

"Come on!" Lara shouted at me.

I readied myself for the jump. As I flew through the air, I wondered if it was the right decision. I grabbed the ledge, barely. My right hand slipped, and before I could steady my grip again, a fiery pain appeared in my left shoulder, me exclaiming in response. The pain was just too unbearable, and my fingers started to slip. Lara was clawing, trying to get a grip on my hands, but it was too late. I was falling, weightless, in slow motion. The breath left my lungs as I hit the ground with a thud, and a blur of figures appeared over me, weapons at the ready…

* * *

AN: Hey guys! Again, not my best work, but at least i have a proper excuse this time. :) I've been trying to work on this inbetween working on a research paper.

I just love all of my fans, and your reviews make my life infinitely better. thank you so much for reading my story :)


	5. Chapter 5

_Boy, have I gotten myself into a pickle…_

As I prepared myself for certain death, I closed my eyes. I waited for the end to come, but it never did.

WHOOSH!

The sound alarmed me and my eyes shot open. There were no stormguards, no weapons above my face. Just an abandoned room. My ears could pick up nothing but gusts of wind.

_What in the world…?_

"Lara…?"

There was shuffling, then, "What just happened?" Lara asked from above.

I shook my head in response, then slowly rose to my feet, uncertain of what to expect around me. My hand immediately went to my hurt shoulder. The arrow was lodged in there pretty good. Falling only made the wound worse. _Suck it up, Alex. Don't be a wimp. At least you didn't take the arrow to the knee._

"Need any help with that?" I heard Lara inquire.

"No!" The words came out forcefully, and accidentally. I immediately felt guilt rushing through my head. Lara was taken aback, and she said nothing. "Lara, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it. I just…. You wouldn't understand."

A sudden crash from behind a wall interrupted the moment.

Lara gasped. "They're coming back! We have to hurry!"

I ran over to the wall in which I had fallen from. Lara managed to pull me up just before the door swung open. Flaming arrows were being shot through the opening. Soon, the hallway we landed in was engulfed in flames. Lara dragged me down the hall until the flames had died down, and we could barely hear the stormguards shouting.

We slowed down and caught our breath. "That was something." I whispered mainly to myself. "My question is, though, how are- AAHH!" I didn't realize that there was a steep, rocky slope in front of me until I was sliding down it, rather uncomfortably.

"Are you okay?" I heard Lara call out.

"I'm fine." I said. "But I could really use my glasses." I mumbled to myself.

Lara slid down the slope after me, landing on top of me in the process. She laughed, and I laughed along with her.

A fiery pain abruptly shot through my shoulder. "GAH!" I exclaimed through clenched teeth.

Lara giggled, and revealed the arrow that had been in my shoulder seconds ago. My eyes went wide as I asked, "Did you… Did you just pull out the arrow?!"

She grinned, then nodded. "You were distracted." Lara's eyes suddenly focused on the hallway ahead, her face became serious, and she retrieved her gun.

My head turned to face whatever it was, but all I could see was a blur of figures headed straight for us. The figures were yelling in Japanese, so I figured they were more stormguard. Lara started shooting, and one by one they dropped.

"Thanks for the help." She muttered.

I stuck out my tongue at her, which awarded me with a smile. As I stood up, I pulled her up with me.

We continued down the hall, and came across a camp.

I was confused. "Who left this camp here…?"

Lara shook her head. "I don't know. But it's fresh. The ashes are still warm." She sat down on a nearby rock. "Why don't we take a break?" I could tell by her voice that she was exhausted.

I sat down beside her, aiming to apologize for snapping at her earlier. It was still on my mind. "Lara, I-"

Suddenly, gunshots sounded through the radio. Then, Reyes's voice appeared on the radio. It sounded like she and Jonah were fighting off some Stormguard.

"I hope they're okay…" Lara whispered, deathly worried.

"They'll be fine. Stop worrying." I smiled at her.

Lara put her head in her hands. "I hope you're right."

I let out a quiet chuckle. "You 'hope' a lot of things. Look, why don't you get some sleep? I'll keep watch."

She didn't refuse. Within a few minutes, Lara was out cold, her face no longer showing the worry that she had exhibited before.

* * *

As I gently shook Lara awake, I stood up, still careful to focus my weight on my uninjured leg.

Lara stood up as well, and yawned as she said, "How long was I asleep?"

"About an hour." I replied.

She nodded and motioned to keep going through the hall. We walked in silence for a while, then Lara finally spoke up. "Do you hear that?"

I stopped and listened for a second. The sound of wind at a distance was all my ears could pick up. "Just wind."

"Exactly. That means we're getting close." Lara said, beginning to walk faster.

I limped along after her, trying to keep up. The hall had turned into a cave, which led out onto a small cliff, where the wind was blowing relentlessly.

Lara climbed up onto a ledge. "Come on, we haven't got all day." She teased.

The ledge wasn't that high, but it was a challenge for me. "Okay. Here I go." I rubbed my hands together in preparation, then tried to climb."Yeah, I can't do this."

Lara sighed, then helped to pull me up, just like she had been doing this whole trip. _These roles should really be reversed. Really._

We appeared to be in a small cavern. We rounded the corner, and could hear the wind again. "Slope ahead. Don't fall again." Lara warned.

"Wonderful." I sat down, and inched my way forward.

Lara chuckled. "What on earth are you doing?"

"I'm feeling for the slope." I said, as if it were obvious.

"Can't you do that with your feet?" She asked playfully, and I just shrugged.

When the slope finally came, I slid down carefully, Lara following. Soon after, the cavern opened into a bridge. The wind was overpowering, and as we walked across it, I had to hold my hands up to shield my face.

"What is with this wind?!" Lara yelled, barely audible.

I took a step, the bridge collapsed, and Lara and I landed on a hard surface with a thud. Once again, I landed flat on my back, and the breath was knocked out of me. _I've gotta stop doing this…_ I groaned and rolled over to face Lara. She was clutching her side, a painful expression on her face.

My eyes widened. "Are you okay?" I exclaimed, worried.

"My wound opened up again…" Lara sat up, alert. "And, it looks like we've got company."

* * *

AN: Hey guys! I know it's been a while, but honestly I just haven't felt like writing. Especially not with school being a pain in the butt. Anyway, I know this chapter was, well, to the point and not detailed at all. It's just really hard to write in detail when the character is nearly blind. But, on the bright side, I should be updating regularly again, now that EOCT's are over. And with summer coming up, I should have an abundance of time to write! :)


	6. Chapter 6

"Lara. I can't see any movement. I really don't think-" WHOOSH! An arrow whizzed past my ear. "Just kidding."

"Here, use this." Lara said, then handed me a handgun.

She ran behind a wall, me trailing her. I crouched behind a wall of a shack next to hers.

Not knowing what we were up against, I asked Lara. "So, who are they? Stormguard or Solarii?"

"They're Oni."

_Oni?_ "Like, guitars? First dead people come to life, now GUITARS? What's next? Zombie sofas?!"

Lara shook her head. "Oni, as in an ancient Japanese 'demon'." She stated, as if it were obvious. "They're similar to stormguard. But that's not important."

"Oh…" I felt like an idiot. "Anyway, do we have a plan?"

Lara smiled. "Don't die."

"Lovely." I gulped. I had fought many battles before. In call of duty. But this was reality.

Oni were firing arrows so much, I wondered if they had arrow-firing machine guns. Apparently, there were an abundance of them, and they were everywhere. There were two of us, only one that was actually useful.

Minutes into the fight, I hadn't fired my gun once. I couldn't see anyone to fire at, so what was the point? But, I didn't want to leave Lara to do everything herself, and add to my uselessness. Taking a leap of faith, I fired randomly, and at nothing in particular. A second later, there was a huge explosion. Debris was flying everywhere, and I shielded my head. After it had cleared, I prepared myself to repeat the process (Who knows, maybe it would work again?), but no more arrows were being fired. No more yelling Oni.

"What just happened?" I asked Lara, confused.

She chuckled. "You just took the rest of them out." Lara sounded impressed.

_Wait. I impressed her? On accident...?_

All of the sudden, her eyes widened as she shouted, "Look out!"

Instinctively, I whirled around, just as an Oni raised his sword. Without aiming, I fired the gun. The Oni dropped to the ground, dead. My heart was racing as fast as the wind, hardly believing what had just happened.

"Well. That was close." I said, shaking off the shock with laughter.

* * *

After defeating a few other hordes of Oni, Lara and I were back to our mission.

"Watch your step." Lara muttered to me, and I nodded.

After tripping many times, you'd think I'd automatically stare at the ground as if it was my computer screen.

We were continuing along the path when an inhuman roar rang through the air, sending shockwaves through the ground, as well as me. Lara and I stopped in our tracks.

"What. Was that?" I whispered, utterly terrified.

Lara let out a deep breath. "That's the leader."

We came across an enormous wall, with a single path through it, which was boarded up. Lara retrieved her bow and a rope arrow, fired at the roped boards, and tore them down. It revealed a bridge, which Lara and I soon walked across. It was a big mistake, however, because as soon as we got halfway across, the monster appeared. From what I could see, it was twice the height of Lara, and headed straight for us.

It swung its massive weapon towards us, which we had to jump to the side to dodge.

"Alex! Hold on to something!" Lara shouted.

_What does she mean hold on to something?! If I stay still, I'm a pancake! _But, knowing Lara, she had a plan. I obeyed her order, hoping that the giant Oni wouldn't flatten me.

The wind picked up, and the Oni was suddenly hit by a large object, and knocked off the bridge. What it was, I couldn't tell you. I was relieved, until I didn't see Lara anywhere. A thought suddenly hit my mind: _What if it knocked her off too?_

"LARA!" I ran to the edge, desperate to find her. Looking over the side, I saw nothing. Fear surged through my veins. _I can't live without her…_

Seconds passed, and my fear grew immensely. _Please, please, please…_ Suddenly, a hand appeared on the rock, and I recognized it. It was Lara's hand. A gasp of relief escaped my mouth as I pulled her up.

"Don't scare me like that again." I demanded, holding her close, never wanting to let go.

Lara nodded slightly, hardly capable of moving due to my death grip on her. She took a deep breath and whispered, "I'm not going anywhere."

* * *

AN: Hola! I know this is an extremely short chapter, but I'm afraid it's all I have time for tonight. Now, i'm off to study for my AP exam tomorrow! Wish me luck! :)

Also, I will be updating again tomorrow night, because this chapter was so short.


	7. Chapter 7

As we stumbled into the building, I had the strange sense that someone, or SOMETHING was watching me. I shrugged the feeling off, however, passing it off as mere paranoia.

Lara pranced about the room, exclaiming in awe, "Alex, are you seeing what I'm seeing?"

"Considering how I can't exactly see, no. No, I don't." I chuckled, but I was unheard because she was examining her surroundings intently.

I waited for her to realize that we needed to move on, but it appeared as if that would not be happening any time soon.

"Alex!" Her sudden outburst scared the living daylights out of me. "Look what I found!"

_Again, I can't see. _"What is it, Lara?"

Unexpectedly, she shoved something on my face, and instantly I could see. I felt the familiar weight of glasses on my nose. They were a little snug, and a little too weak for my liking, but hey! It was better than what I had been facing for a while.

"You look ridiculous in those glasses." Lara said, making her burst into laughter.

"Gee. Thanks." I thought for a moment. "Where did you find these, anyway?"

Lara replied casually, "On a dead body."

I froze in my tracks. "D-dead body?"

"Oh, it's not a big deal." She teased.

"Yeah." _Dead body…_ "Sure."

Lara walked around for a bit, still examining this incredibly boring room. "Hmmm… I wonder what this does." She pulled a lever, slowly spinning it. A grate in the floor opened up, revealing a large bell. She began to spin another lever, which raised the bell. "I wonder…" Lara shot a rope arrow into the bell, and pulled. It swung back, then forward, breaking down the door. _Finding and using an ancient Japanese bell to open up a new passage, now added to the list of amazing feats that Lara has done, and which I have failed to do._

"Nice." As we sauntered into the room, I asked, "Where do you reckon this leads?"

"To Sam, I hope."

The room opened up into a sanctuary of statues. The eyes of the statues watched us as we entered, and I could only wonder if they were weeping angels. "Don't blink." I whispered to Lara, wondering if she would catch the Doctor Who joke. Unfortunately, she didn't. _How can a British person not watch Doctor Who…? _

Instead, Lara admired the statues, viewing every detail. "The sun queen…" she muttered at last.

I unwillingly zoned off into a daydream, inspired by these mysterious statues. Could the stories that Sam always blabbered on about actually be real…?

"Alex? Do you realize this?!" Lara's words snapped me back into perspective.

_Whoops._ "Sorry, what?"

She huffed in annoyance. "Himiko never transferred her power to other people, she transferred her soul! Took over the body. And she's going to do that with Sam if we don't do something about it!"

"Oh." Still confused, I couldn't say much more. "That's bad." Lara glared at me. "That is the most awful thing I've ever heard of someone doing. We must stop it at all costs…?"

Slightly less annoyed, she dragged me along down a hall that was lit with candles. I couldn't help but wonder who lit them…

* * *

As soon as Lara opened the door, a bitter breeze whipped through the air, showing no mercy to its surroundings. Snow flew wildly in the brutal wind.

"Is that… a fire?" Without a warning, Lara started running across yet another bridge. _Why so many bridges, I mean, seriously?_

I followed after her, sincerely hoping this bridge wouldn't collapse like the last one.

"Lara!" Sam's voice.

By the time I caught up with her, Lara's bow was aimed at am man, whom I guessed was Mathias. "Why are you doing this, Mathias?"

He only grinned. "Do you think that you're the hero, Lara?" Lara was a little taken aback by this question. "Everything I've done I did to survive! How many lives have you taken to do the same?" His eyes were those of a murderer. _How dare he compare himself with Lara?!_ "There are no heroes here. Only survivors."

"You're wrong!" Mathias looked at me with curiosity as I spoke. "Unlike you, Lara is a hero!"

"Oh, just be quiet, boy. This has nothing to do with you." He tightened his grip on Sam. "Now, let's go meet your destiny, Samantha!" Mathias laughed evilly, then disappeared behind the flames, Sam screaming Lara's name as he dragged her away.

Lara, desperate to save her best friend, cried out, "Sam! I'm coming for you!"

* * *

AN: This chapter was just as short the last. :/ Again, my apologies. I did not intend for it to be so short. Anyway, I am bound and determined to return to my normal chapter length, and update every other day.

And it looks like I only have a few chapters left :( i'll be glad that I actually finished something, but sad because it was so much fun to write...

oh, I almost forgot. If you haven't seen or heard of Doctor Who, it's an amazing tv show. You need to watch it.


	8. Chapter 8

"I suppose now would be a bad time to tell you that I'm scared of heights." I said, refusing to look down.

We were scaling the length of a wall, dodging debris as it fell, careful not to slip on the icy stone. Strangely, this moment sparked a memory from my childhood, when I slipped off the climbing wall in gym class… I never had the courage to climb anything again, because of the fear of falling. _Great time to bring that up, brain._

"I would say so!" Lara exclaimed over the howling wind. "But we're almost there!"

A minute later, her words proved to be correct. We stumbled over the edge of the wall, and onto solid ground, which turned out to be no better. Swarming with Stormguards, Oni, whatever you call them, as well as Solarii. In the center of the tower, there stood what Lara had been so desperate to save. Sam.

"Oh, great queen! Through the trials, I have brought you the vessel." Mathias appeared from behind a pillar. "Pour forth! And return to this mortal coil! Pour forth, and be reborn!" _What is he blabbering on about now…?_ "Pour forth, and AWAKEN!"

Then, a body rose from a stone coffin. It looked like a porcelain doll, face white as snow. _Creepy dolls coming to life… Almost as bad as zombie guitars. _

"What is that thing?!" I asked Lara.

"That's her! Himiko!"

The doll-like queen shrieked, a glowing blue wave escaping her lips. It shaped itself into a giant sphere, like a barrier, over the center of the tower. The Sun Queen's face began to bluster away in the wicked wind, leaving behind a gruesome sight.

_Normally, I go for weird stuff, but this is just OUT THERE…_

In what seemed like a hopeless attempt, Lara fired an arrow towards the glowing sphere, screaming Sam's name. The sphere misdirected the arrow, sending it flying into oblivion.

Lara turned to me, and there was something in her eyes that wasn't there before. Desperation? "I have to get to her!"

I let out a sigh as Lara once again ran off to get to Sam, leaving me in her dust. _It never ends, does it? _Attempting to follow her, I swiftly stood up, ignoring the sudden increase in the wind's brutality.

Lara was walking straight into a horde of Solarii, but based on the expression on her face, she didn't care. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a flash of a grenade, headed right for Lara. I immediately tackled her to the side, behind a large chunk of stone, right before the grenade exploded. Debris flew up into the sky, but was immediately swept up by the still accumulating wind.

Lara took no time to hop up from behind the barrier, rapidly firing away at her foes. As soon as they all went down, Lara and I advanced around the roof, dodging flying wreckage as we went.

"There's Oni up ahead!" Lara shouted, just before she was blown off her feet by the wind.

I held my arms and hands up in defense, blinded by the wind. She suddenly grasped my arm, pulling me down with her, and digging her climbing axe into the cold hard stone of the floor. I felt myself being lifted off the ground in a steady motion, and realized that it was the wind. Clinging to the axe as well as Lara, I hoped that the wind didn't get worse.

BOOM!

I opened my eyes to see what had caused the noise, and to my pleasure, a nearby tower had collapsed in front of us. Not only did it crush the Oni, but also blocked the wind so that Lara and I were no longer in the air. Again, we attempted to move further.

The ease that the collapsed tower had created soon came to an end, however, when more Oni charged towards us. It was no trouble for Lara, with the wind aiding her, as well.

"RISE! RISE!" Mathias's voice rang across the roof, echoing throughout the storm. Lara's feeble attempts to change his mind had no effect.

Lightning began to strike, only adding to our challenge, yet Lara was still determined to reach the center.

Our path got narrower, but we crossed it and found ourselves in an empty opening. I almost sighed in relief that there were no Oni or Solarii waiting for us, but was interrupted by an all-too-familiar roar.

I turned my head to the direction of the sound, preparing for what was coming. "Well. Here comes King Kong…" I mumbled, then turned back to Lara. "You keep going! I'll hold him off till you get Sam!"

"Alex, are you sure-" I cut her off with a confident look. Lara nodded hesitantly, then kept going.

_What did I just do?! I can't fight worth a crap, let alone beat this guy! _I sighed. _Oh well… guess I have no choice…_

The beast appeared a few feet from me, armed and ready.

I unsheathed my knife, as well as my gun, and cracked my neck. "Let's dance, big guy."

* * *

AN: HEY GUYS! I can't tell you how hard these past couple of weeks have been! Check this out: I went to my dad's house, the house got struck by lightning, and zapped our tv and internet. A week later, I returned to my mom's house, and guess what happened?! THE SAME EXACT THING. Impossible, right? Wrong. Weather, if you could calm down a bit, it would be greatly appreciated.

Anyway, back to the story. The next chapter, chapter 9, I regret to inform will be the finale for this story. Will you all get what you have been eagerly waiting for? (creepy laugh) We'll see...

This chapter has a reference to my past, and I saw it fit to add to the story. I did indeed, fall off the climbing wall as a child. (we had no harnesses) But oh well. We all had our moments, right? I know this chapter was still really short... but I'm getting really sleepy. I just couldn't wait to post it now that our internet is up and running again! So, hope you enjoyed it anyway :)


	9. Chapter 9

POW!

_Aha! I got him! Wait… nope, he's still coming…_

As I ran from yet another of the big oni's swings, I began to regret my decision of staying behind. I didn't really want to in the first place, especially since the wind was becoming more hazardous by the minute, but it was better me to get crushed by his big spiky mace-thing than Lara. As the thoughts ran through my brain, I checked the status of my gun.

_Well… crap._

With only two bullets left, I began to worry that my attempts were useless. Could he even be beaten?

The oni started charging towards me at an amazing speed, considering his weight and armor. I had no other choice but to jump to the side, dodging a fatal blow. That's when I saw it. His back was completely vulnerable! Using one of my remaining bullets, I fired at the tough skin, hoping it would penetrate it.

The oni jerked back with a roar of pain, collapsing to his knees shortly after. I fired my last bullet, aiming for his weak spot. The palm of his hands landed roughly on the ground. Now on all fours, the oni was almost done in. A sudden surge of adrenaline hit me as I ran towards him and lodged my knife behind his ear, ending him. I slowly stepped back, hardly believing my actions. Deep breaths flooded my lungs as I tried to recover.

_I just took down… I just… I AM THE KING OF THE SAMURAI!_

My victory dance (the sprinkler), was interrupted by an echoing scream. My head quickly jerked in the direction of the shrill sound, my instincts now impeccable due to my adrenaline rush. Mathias appeared from above, fell through my line of sight in one second, then disappeared into the icy tips of Yamatai's mountains.

There was only one explanation for this. Lara has succeeded. I immediately began to proceed to the center of the tower, eagerly awaiting the sight of her.

All of the sudden, an explosion burst through the wind, and I feared the worst.

_Please let Lara be okay… _

I moved a little faster to the top of the ruins, my heart pounding violently. But then I saw her, leaning over Sam, and a rush of relief flowed over me. I wanted to run up to her, hold her tight, but I decided to give Lara and Sam their space.

The storm began to subside, the sun radiating through the dispersing clouds. A sign that the battle had ended.

_It's over._

Lara turned around, beaming with an exhausted smile. Her face was covered in soot, and her hair a little out of place, but she was still as beautiful as ever.

I returned her grin with one of my own, then stepped a little closer to survey both of their conditions.

Lara stood up. "So, I'm assuming that you managed to take down the Oni?"

"Yes, actually. He's dead as a doornail." I smirked.

She simply nodded. "Well. I think Sam will be okay, as long as we get her to the boat soon. No need to stay here any longer than necessary."

Sam coughed weakly, but said nothing as I picked her up and began to carry her down the tower, Lara leading the way.

* * *

The journey to the boat took a little longer than expected, mainly due to mishaps with my shoelaces. A few weeks on a mostly deserted island, and they become rather useless. It was not a very fun experience, seeing as how I was carrying Sam down a cliff, but we somehow managed to make it to the boat without plummeting to our deaths, or losing my glasses.

It was a sight to see when we finally did reach the boat, however. Reyes got in about ten complaints and orders before we could even step foot on the boat. I handed Sam to Jonah, and decided to let him doctor her up. I was beat, so I sat against the side of the boat.

"Alex, we're about to head out. Try not to get sick." Reyes muttered to me.

Half asleep already, I replied, "I make no promises."

Lara settled down beside me, more done in than I was. Moments later, I felt her head on my shoulder and smiled. This was a moment that I hated to ruin, but slumber was calling my name. As my surroundings began to blur, I focused on the setting sun, realizing it meant the last day on this god-forsaken island. Now at peace, I drifted off to sleep.

* * *

It wasn't long before we were discovered by a cargo ship. The feeling of having sea-sickness medication, eating a complete meal, and taking a hot shower was like nothing else in the world, aside from the flutter in my stomach caused by Lara's smile.

We were all gathered around on the deck, telling the crew members our tales of the island (but leaving out the Himiko coming to life part), when I decided to pull Lara to the side.

"Lara?"

Her head slowly turned in my direction, waiting for me to keep going.

I sighed, nervous about the answer to my question, "Why did you take me with you?"

Lara's look of surprise quickly faded as it turned into a gentle smile. "Well. I don't know… I guess I really just needed you there. Back when I had to climb the radio tower…" She sighed. "It was terrifying. But you kept me going. You always kept me going. You're my hero, and always will be."

As her answer seeped into my brain, I made a decision. My heart started to race like the wind as I choked out, "I have a confession to make." _Oh god, oh god…._ "Lara, I-"

Suddenly, out of nowhere, her lips met mine. They were like silk against my skin, sending a shockwave of goose bumps down my arms. I wrapped my arms around her waist, my mind swimming in ecstasy. When we finally broke apart, her lips were pinker than normal, as were her cheeks.

I watched as Lara's mouth formed the words, "I love you too."

And now, at least for the moment, life was blissfully complete.

* * *

AN: Hey! Gah, I know I've been off grid for what, two months now? Yeah. Really sorry bout that. Anyway, I hope this chapter satisfies. I tried to make it the best that I could. I'm not very good at ending stuff, and that was the first kissing scene I've ever written. So yeah. I love you guys, and I appreciate you loving my story even though I occasionally went off grid! THANK YOU! :)

Oh! I forgot to mention that I will be writing a sequel! They still have that date to go on, you know. ;P Hopefully, i'll come up with a plotline for the sequel soon and get started on it!


End file.
